Drivers of 5-star reviews – and real learning impact
Ask ten people what makes a good training course and you’ll get ten different answers. Some will talk about how engaging the trainer was. Others will focus on how enjoyable the session felt.
But enjoyment and effectiveness are not the same thing.
For training companies, this distinction matters. A course can receive glowing feedback on the day and still fail to deliver meaningful learning or behaviour change. Equally, some of the most impactful training experiences don’t always feel enjoyable at the time.
Understanding this distinction is essential if you want to design and deliver training that earns 5-star reviews and creates lasting value for learners and clients.
In this blog, we’ll explore:
- Common misconceptions about “good” training
- What really makes a training course effective
- What effective training design looks like
- Best practices for training delivery
- Why structured feedback is critical to continuous improvement
Common mistakes that undermine training success
Before looking at what good training looks like, it’s worth addressing a few assumptions that regularly lead training providers astray.
Treating “good training” as black and white
There is no such thing as a universally “good” or “bad” training course.
Training does not exist in a vacuum. A course that works brilliantly for one audience may fall flat for another. Context matters, including:
- who the learners are
- why they are there
- what they already know
- and when the training takes place.
When providers talk about training quality as an absolute, they risk focusing only on content while ignoring the conditions that determine whether learning can actually happen.
Confusing enjoyment with effectiveness
Many training courses are judged primarily on how enjoyable they feel on the day. While enjoyment plays an important role in learner engagement and overall experience, it is not a reliable indicator of learning effectiveness.
Research in learning evaluation, including the work of Will Thalheimer, suggests that learner enjoyment and satisfaction do not consistently correlate with knowledge retention, skill acquisition, or lasting behaviour change. A session can feel engaging and enjoyable yet result in little long-term learning, while more challenging or effortful learning experiences often lead to stronger outcomes.
This does not mean enjoyment is irrelevant. A positive learning experience can support motivation and attention, particularly when delivered by a skilled trainer. Enjoyment also matters for reviews and repeat bookings. However, training providers should be careful not to treat high satisfaction scores or positive reactions as proof that learning has occurred.
Treating training success as something that happens only during the course
A common misconception is that training success is determined solely by what happens during the course itself.
In reality, even well-designed and well-delivered training will have limited impact if learners are not given the opportunity to apply, practise, and reinforce new skills afterwards. Learning does not stop when the session ends.
Training is most effective when:
- Learners can practise new skills in real work contexts
- There is time and space to apply learning soon after the course
- Managers or supervisors support and reinforce learning
- Learners receive feedback as they apply new skills
Without these conditions in place, learners may leave a course feeling confident and positive, but struggle to translate that learning into sustained behaviour change. This often leads to a gap between strong post-course satisfaction and weaker real-world outcomes.
Good training courses acknowledge this reality and are designed to support learning beyond the classroom, rather than assuming the course alone is enough.
Designing effective training courses
Design is where training either sets itself up for success, or quietly fails before delivery even begins.
Start with contextual fit and learner readiness
A training course is only effective if it is right for the learner at that moment.
When designing a course, training providers should be clear on:
- Who the course is for
- What learners already know
- What prerequisites are required
- Whether the timing allows skills to be applied soon after the course
- Whether the format suits the learning goals
For private or in-company programmes, this often involves working closely with the client to understand learner needs and organisational context. For public courses, it means being clear about intended audience, level, and prerequisites from the outset.
Getting this right reduces disengagement, mismatched expectations, and negative perceptions of value.
Define clear earning and training goals
Clear objectives are a defining feature of effective training courses.
Training objectives describe what the programme is intended to achieve, while learning objectives define what learners should know or be able to do by the end of the course. Without this clarity, it becomes difficult to design effective content, choose appropriate delivery methods, or evaluate success meaningfully.
Well-defined objectives help:
- Align course content with real workplace needs
- Set clear expectations for learners
- Support more meaningful post-training evaluation
They also make it easier to assess whether positive feedback reflects genuine learning or simply a good experience.
Design for active learning and skill transfer
Participation is one of the strongest drivers of learning retention. The more actively learners engage with content, the more likely new knowledge and skills are to stick.
Good training courses typically include:
- Practical exercises and realistic scenarios
- Opportunities to practise skills, not just hear about them
- Reflection and discussion during sessions
- Clear links between training material and real-world application
To support retention, training design should also account for how memory works. Reinforcement, spaced repetition, and post-course resources can all help learners revisit and apply key concepts after the training session ends.
Incorporate the 70-20-10 rule
The 70-20-10 model is a useful reminder that formal training is only one part of how people learn.
The model suggests that:
- 70% of learning comes from experience and practice
- 20% comes from social learning and feedback
- 10% comes from formal training
For training providers, this highlights the importance of designing courses that support application beyond the classroom - through practice, discussion, reflection, and follow-up - rather than treating the session itself as the entire learning journey.
Good training courses acknowledge this reality and are designed to complement, not replace, learning that happens on the job.
Delivering training effectively
Great design can still fall apart if delivery doesn’t support it.
The role of the trainer
The trainer plays a central role in how a course is experienced, but their impact goes beyond delivery style or subject expertise.
In good training courses, effective trainers:
- Adjust pace and examples based on learner responses
- Encourage participation without forcing it
- Help learners make connections between content and their own context
- Create a safe environment for questions and practice
A strong trainer can elevate well-designed content by making it relevant, engaging, and accessible to the specific group in front of them. Conversely, even strong course design can be undermined if delivery does not adapt to learner needs.
Trainer effectiveness is therefore a critical factor in both learner experience and learning outcomes, and one that benefits from structured feedback and reflection.
Choosing the right delivery format
The delivery format of a training course plays an important role in how learners engage with content and apply what they’ve learned.
Different formats support different outcomes:
- In-person delivery can work particularly well for discussion, practice, role play, and behaviour change
- Virtual delivery improves accessibility and scalability, and can be effective for knowledge-based learning when designed well
- Blended approaches can reinforce learning over time by combining live sessions with follow-up resources or activities
In some cases, offering the same course in multiple formats, such as classroom and virtual, can be beneficial, giving learners flexibility while still meeting learning objectives.
Rather than assuming one format is inherently better than another, effective training providers consider how delivery choices support learner engagement, participation, and application in each specific context.
Why training feedback matters
Even the best-designed and well-delivered courses can be improved.
Post-training feedback surveys and metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) help training providers understand learner perceptions, identify strengths and weaknesses, and track trends over time. However, feedback becomes meaningful only when it is used as part of a structured approach to training evaluation that looks beyond satisfaction scores and focuses on learning, application, and improvement.
Effective feedback processes allow providers to:
- Move beyond surface-level satisfaction
- Identify which elements support learning and transfer
- Compare results across courses, formats, or trainers
- Make evidence-based improvements to design and delivery
- Demonstrate continuous improvement
For example, identifying recurring feedback about pace, relevance, or application can highlight where small design or delivery changes make a big difference.
Closing the loop - communicating changes made as a result of feedback - helps learners see that their input matters and reinforces trust in the training provider. It also turns feedback from a reporting exercise into a genuine driver of quality.
Conclusion: there’s no such thing as a “good” training course
Training effectiveness is not absolute.
People are poor judges of learning impact in the moment because they judge based on emotion and enjoyment. That emotional response drives 5-star reviews, and those reviews matter, especially in competitive training markets.
But reviews alone do not tell the whole story.
The most effective training providers understand this distinction. They design courses for contextual fit, deliver them with care, and use structured feedback to keep improving.
That’s what turns positive experiences into real learning, and strong reputations into sustainable success.
Continuous improvement with Coursecheck
Coursecheck is a course evaluation system designed to help training providers move beyond gut feel and averages by turning learner feedback into clear, actionable insight.
By collecting structured, regular feedback and analysing qualitative comments at scale, Coursecheck makes it easier to understand what’s working, what needs refinement, and where small changes can improve both course design and delivery over time.
Ready to create an effective training course with Coursecheck?
Frequently asked questions on good training courses
What is most important in a successful training programme?
The most important factor in an effective training programme is contextual fit. Rather than being an “absolute” quality, effectiveness depends on whether the training provides the right content for the right audience at the right time.
This includes considering learner readiness, prerequisites, timing, and whether learners have opportunities to apply what they’ve learned beyond the course itself.
What are the steps in creating a good training programme?
The steps to creating a good training programme typically include:
- Conducting a needs analysis
- Defining clear training and learning objectives
- Choosing appropriate delivery methods
- Designing training that supports participation, practice, and retention
What is the 70-20-10 rule for training?
The 70-20-10 rule is a learning and development model that describes how people acquire skills and knowledge over time. It suggests that learning typically comes from three sources:
70% – Experiential learning (on the job) : Learning through experience, practice, and real work tasks, including solving problems, making mistakes, and learning through doing.
20% – Social learning (from others) : Learning through interactions with others, such as coaching, mentoring, peer discussion, feedback, and observation.
10% – Formal learning (structured training) : Learning through courses, workshops, seminars, reading, and e-learning. While important for building foundational knowledge, formal training alone is rarely sufficient for long-term skill development.
This model reinforces the idea that good training courses should support learning beyond the classroom, rather than being treated as the entire learning journey.